


Dancing Through the Ruins

by VirginiasWolf



Series: Life Moves On [31]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: Coronavirus mention, F/M, Minor OC Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24465475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirginiasWolf/pseuds/VirginiasWolf
Summary: Richard and Camille share a somber moment in isolation.Part of the Life Moves On series.
Relationships: Camille Bordey/Richard Poole
Series: Life Moves On [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1456375
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Dancing Through the Ruins

Under any other circumstances it would be exciting and romantic being whisked away to a secluded farmstead somewhere in rural England. Under normal circumstances, Camille might not even mind that it wasn't just her Richard, and the girls there, but also his parents and a maternal uncle and aunt who owned the property. Except there is a difference between a weekend, or even a week long getaway and what has now been nearly two months. Two months spent consulting remotely via. Skype for work, all while hiding from something that Camille had once thought would be impossible.

  
Today, there has been another blow to what already feels like a strained environment. Earlier this morning, Camille had walked into the farmhouse kitchen, expecting to share one of the few quiet moments of the day with her husband. Instead, she had found Richard hanging up the phone and wiping away tears. It had taken him a few moments to compose himself, but then he had told Camille words she had never wanted to hear.

  
Now, all she can think about is Michael and Liz back in London and the task that she is sure must be utterly crushing them; having to say goodbye to their ten-year-old daughter who passed only this morning from corona-virus. Liz had previously stated that Avery had been a premature baby, born with many medical problems, and she was small for her age as well as asthmatic, but she was also a ballerina and someone who seemed to always have a constant stream of conversation so Camille had naively assumed that any days of poor health were a thing of the past. 

  
The worst challenge, for her and Richard, will be finding the words to explain to their own daughters that their playmate is gone. It's almost a relief that they've been able to put off doing so by taking Murphy on a walk to an old set of ruins that are just on the edge of the property. The thing that is less of a relief is that not a word has been said since the walk began.

  
Richard is the one to break the cutting silence. "I think you should take the DI exam, and try to become the inspector back on Saint Marie."

  
Shortly before all of this had begun, Camille had been offered the chance to take a promotion at work. At the time she had told the captain that she would need to think about it, because of course a promotion would mean no more partnership with Richard. Now, a sinking pit forms in her stomach. Is this his way of trying to tell her that he wants to file for divorce after this is all over? Of course things have been tense lately, and she knows for a fact that his aunt still firmly believes that her nephew should have married a "nice, pale, English girl" but she hasn't grown to love Richard any less. Has he perhaps grown weary of her though?

  
The thought of all this causes her to find herself breaking down into an uncontrollable torrent of sobs as she sits down on part of what must once have been the wall of a castle.

  
Through her tears she can't see Richard's alarm, but she senses it in his sudden response. "I thought you would want to go back to the island."

  
Camille finds herself too distraught to form words, so instead she reaches out for him, hoping that even if he has grown weary of her, he'll still grant her the mercy of holding her.

  
Thankfully, he does. After another moment where she is still unable to speak, he seems to be able to finally understand exactly why she is upset. "Camille, I wasn't trying to discreetly hint at anything cruel, if that's what you believe. Today made me reflect on the things that are most important to me, and those would be you and our daughters. I...I want them to grow up in a place where I know they will be safe, and I want to be somewhere where you'll be able to command the respect you deserve."

  
Of course he hadn't been trying to hurt her. Camille decides she has a right to her tears though, except now they are for the loss of little Avery Poole who's young life shouldn't have been snuffed out. For a time Camille still finds herself so consumed by her tears that she could hardly stop the torrent of them, even if she wanted to. At least she now knows that Richard is still on her side. Even as she finds her mind knotted by the grief and uncertainty of everything, she can still feel his arms wrapped tight around her as he nuzzles at the top of her head and plants soft kisses in her hair.

  
"Sometimes none of this feels like it should be real. A bloody plague reducing us all to living in fear. It sounds like a bit out of a science fiction novel, doesn't it?" He stops briefly to look at her before continuing to speak. "Everything is so uncertain these days, but the one thing I know I'm not uncertain about is having you next to me throughout all of this. I need you with me Camille, to weather all the crazy storms of life."

  
She knows from past experience that this is one of his attempts to comfort her, and it works. Although the lonesome ache still remains, she finds herself feeling more relaxed. There is a bit of a chill in the air that makes her want to snuggle closer to Richard, but it's still a relatively nice late spring day and the ruins really are beautiful.

  
After another period of shared silence, Richard mutters, "Oh bother." 

  
"What?" Camille asks, unsure if she should be concerned.

  
"I thought we'd lost the dog for a moment, but it turns out we haven't. Look."

  
When Camille looks in the direction Richard is pointing, she sees Murphy playfully chasing a butterfly through another part of the ruins. Oh if only she could feel as playful and carefree as he is. Instead, she feels exhausted and almost broken with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At least now she knows it is a weight she doesn't have to worry about carrying it alone.

  
Quietly, she looks around the ruins. She's been up to them a handful of times before, sometimes with Richard or the kids and sometimes alone, but today the energy feels different. Perhaps it's the combination of the news about Avery combined with the brief belief that this would be the place where she was forced to accept that the person she loves most in this world no longer loved her. Whatever it is, something is making the ruins almost feel spiritual in a way and causing her to think about the long dead people who must have once lived their lives here.

  
"Do you ever think about the people who lived here?" As she speaks, she shifts herself in Richard's arms so that she can look at his face.

  
"Well, I remember reading a book that said..."

  
Camille cuts him off before he can finish. "I mean the stuff that will never be written down in books. Their thoughts. Their hopes. Their daily struggles."

  
At first Richard looks as if he's going to launch back into something about journals, but then he decides instead to respond, "In a way, they were just like us."

  
"Yes." Camille can't help but smile as a random thought enters her mind. Perhaps another excuse to avoid having to immediately go back to the farm and deliver the horrible news to their daughters. "I want us to try something."

  
Richard's eyes go wide in shock, and she realizes he has assumed that her suggestion must be naughty. "How can you think of that at a time like this?"

  
"I'm not. I want to share a slow dance with you like one of those movie cliches you hate so much. It just feels like a fitting bonding moment, and when I was a little girl I would always dream of dancing with my prince charming in a castle."

  
"You know, this wasn't a king's castle, merely the estate of a wealthy landowner, and we haven't got any music." When Camille fixes him with one of her best glares, considering her current state, he hastily adds "but I would love to share a dance with you."

  
Although there have been many times in the past when dancing meant passion or romance, but this time it occurs to Camille that it is almost like a lifeline keeping her from completely losing her sanity. Carefully, they navigate through stray weathered stones and tangled grass.

  
Dancing through ruins is a rather fitting metaphor for what her life is right now, Camille can't help but think bitterly, but at least she isn't dancing alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for not warning about the death being that of a child character, but I have only one minor child oc right now for this, so that would have gave away everything and I figured that was the kind of event it would take to make Richard suggest moving back to Saint Marie. Unfortunately, since I'm trying to play this series as happening alongside canon events, this will still depend on the TV series ending with the current DI not establishing strong roots on the island, so fingers crossed there.


End file.
